Guest Posting for SEO - A Guide to Guest Blogging Best Practices in 2024

Why do I need a guest posting strategy as a website owner?

Because without one, you’ll either waste time, money, or both. I don’t want to see that happen, and nor do you.

This is a comprehensive guide to strategic guest posting for SEO. My goal is to provide you with a toolkit for developing a successful, affordable guest post strategy.

As you progress, you’ll find advice on crafting outreach emails, writing fantastic guest content, and nurturing relationships with publishers.

I’ll also provide annotated guest post examples towards the end, along with examples of good and bad outreach emails.

Let’s start at the beginning.

What is Guest Posting for SEO?

A guest post, also known as a guest blog, is content written by one party to be published on another party’s website. This content contains a link back to the first party’s website. In SEO, this is called link-building.

We’ll call the first party the blogger and the second party the publisher throughout this guide.

The basic rules for guest posts are as follows:

The guest article must be on a topic relevant to the publisher’s blog
The content of the guest post must not already be published elsewhere on the web*
The link must be tied to an anchor text chosen by the guest blogger. This must fit naturally into the blog’s content and usually only appears once
The article shouldn’t usually be directly promotional of the blogger’s services or reputation: this would be a paid advertisement rather than a guest blog
The blogger typically pays the publisher a fee to have the article published. This may sometimes be waived if the blogger is providing very high-quality content.

*In some cases, the guest article may have originally been published on the blogger’s own website. In this case, the publisher will add a note to the content explaining that the content was originally published elsewhere.

What is the Purpose of a Guest Post?

The fundamental goal of guest posting for SEO is to get your website seen and visited by more people. This can be achieved both directly by referral traffic (visitors following a link) and indirectly (by helping search engines recognize your website as a trusted information source).

Your guest blogging strategy should be informed by the following goals.

1. Link Building

The main purpose of a guest post is to acquire a backlink from a reputable, high-traffic website.

When search engines crawl these links, they see that a trusted website is using your website as a reference. This makes the search engine consider your website more trustworthy.

Higher-trust websites tend to get promoted more in SERPs (search engine results pages). Analytics tools like Moz, Ahrefs, and Semrush refer to this as domain rating (DR) or domain authority (DA).

While DA/DR is a useful indicator of whether your link-building strategy is working or not, I’d advise not placing too much emphasis on DR or DA, as they’re not actually metrics used by search engines.

2. Increasing Website Traffic

If your guest blog is published on a high-traffic website, visitors might click the link to your site to learn more about a subject. This translates into organic traffic, and if your website sells something, it potentially means new customers.

When I first started in SEO, this one felt unbelievable to me. Do people actually click links in guest posts?

As it turns out, yes.

However, the chance of someone clicking on a link scales up dramatically based on the quality of the guest blog, the anchor text used for the backlink, and how it’s presented within the content.

3. Creating Brand Recognition

Branded anchors can be an incredibly effective component of guest blog posts when used well. This is when the anchor text is your brand’s name, or a service you offer coupled with your brand’s name.

Search engines actually like branded anchor text because it’s transparent – there’s nothing sneaky about publishing text reading “according to websitename.org...”

Branded anchors also have the advantage that whether the reader clicks the link or not, they see your brand’s name. Brand names can be slightly clunky when inserted into content, so one of the best ways to create a branded backlink is for the publisher to include an “About the Author” section with a direct link to your website.

Recap of Why Guest Posting for SEO is So Important

Planning to get to 50,000 monthly organic visitors with content alone? It can happen! But it won’t.

In SEO, guest blogging is simply the best way to acquire backlinks, and you need backlinks to get recognized by search engines.

Your guest blogging strategy should be informed by the following goals.

If you’re concerned about using black hat SEO techniques, you should realize that there’s nothing dishonest about it: search engines expect websites to collaborate. As long as you’re transparent and provide high-quality, relevant blogs for the publisher, Google is more than happy to accept credit being given to the author’s website.

For more information, check out our full guide to white hat vs. black hat SEO in guest posting.

Incidentally, I’ve seen some very respectable sources, such as SERoundtable, suggest that Google barely uses links to rank websites anymore. This would be big news in SEO. Guest posts would become almost redundant.

I’ll believe it when I stop seeing guest posts doing solid work for virtually all the website owners I know.

How to Find Guest Posting Opportunities

Now you know what you want from guest blogs, you need to be able to identify where you should post them.

And, of course, where you can post them. Not all websites accept guest posts, and even those that do might not want your guest post. Not without a bit of friendly persuasion (we’ll get to that in a minute).

This is how I create shortlists of target websites when I’m preparing a guest posting campaign.

1. Scraping SERPs

Start by making a list of terms related to your website’s niche. If you’ve already performed keyword research for your own content production, this list will do fine.

Search for these keywords along with phrases used by guest blogging sites that encourage contributors, for example, “write for us,” “submit guest posts,” “become a contributor,” etc. Format the query using operators to find blogs publicly seeking guest authors:

Example: “home services” intitle:”write for us”

Example: “contractors” inurl:”become a contributor”

When using operators, remember not to put a space after the operator. Copy and paste the text provided and switch out the keywords for your own.

Scraping SERPs is a pretty easy way to identify reputable sites that are already accepting guest posts. It can be time-consuming, but that comes with the territory of DIY guest blogging.

2. Use Your Network (or Start Building One!)

Good relationships with other website owners are consistently undervalued in SEO.

Guest posting opportunities are a great example of this. If you know someone in a similar or related industry, offering them free content for a backlink is a great way to build an enduring, mutually beneficial relationship.

For this reason, I’d recommend putting extra effort into both your pitch and follow-up correspondence with any blog owner you contact. Even if they can’t publish a guest blog for you right now, they may well be a valuable contact later on.

3. Guest Blogging Services

Both the options I’ve described so far have one key weakness: time.

Scraping SERPs and building a network are time-consuming activities. The benefit is that you remain in full control of the outreach process. But you can bet that finding guest post opportunities manually and writing posts will take hours out of your week.

For this reason, the vast majority of guest bloggers use guest post packages from third-party services to both write the posts and connect them with SEO-friendly guest blogging opportunities.

This saves you time on:

Writing
Outreach
Vetting host websites

If you’re an exceptional writer with tons of great ideas, superb research skills, and a talent for persuading someone to work with you in a single email, you’re already the perfect DIY guest poster.

In reality, this is a very rare skill set.

Third-party services aren’t just more convenient – they’re also frequently more effective at hitting your SEO goals.

How to Pitch a Guest Blog Correctly

A pitch should be friendly, professional, and persuasive. It should consider every reason a blog owner might have to not want to publish your content and prove them wrong.

Here’s how you do that.

1. Make your outreach emails personal

My #1 rule of outreach for pitching a guest blog post is: do not use an email template.

The reason? There is a very limited number of relevant websites you really, really want to publish guest posts on. Every templated email that you send to one of these ultra-high-value host blogs is a closing door.

Believe me: blog owners know an email template from a personal message. They’re also interested in building relationships with content creators who can give them something unique. So don’t open with something generic.

2. Identify a relevant niche

If there’s no connection between your website and the target blog, there’s no reason for them to publish your content. They could get flagged for black-hat link-building practices.

So you need to make it clear that your blog is relevant to theirs.

Let’s say I run an HVAC repair service. I want to obtain a link back to my blog on what to do if your HVAC unit is making strange noises.

My target website, chosen through SERP scraping for “home services” pages, is a popular local business directory.

We have a natural connection for my guest post submission to this website. Their readers are looking for local businesses, so I need to answer questions their readers are asking. My niche is HVAC repair, so I need to think of the questions people ask when they need this service but haven’t chosen a supplier yet.

…more on that later.

3. Show that you know the target blog

First – if they have them, follow their guest posting guidelines exactly.

Check out other published guest posts on the blog. Pitching an article idea that they published a few weeks ago is such an avoidable error. Make sure your post gives them something they haven’t already got.

Go further. Suggest which section of their blog your guest post belongs in. Briefly explain why you think their readers would find it interesting.

Above all, show them that you’re treating their blog with the same respect you have for your own blog.

4. Demonstrate what's in it for them

Show what makes your guest articles different. You might want to mention:

Original research (you don’t have to run a full survey or interview anyone. However, comparing relevant statistics & drawing original conclusions is far more than they’ll get from most guest bloggers who contact them)
A target keyword relevant to their niche
Free, high-value content! It seems obvious, but make it clear that you’re going to put in the effort and give them something that would usually cost $$$ from a content agency
The start of a professional relationship. They will understand the value of a strong professional network, and if you show you’re serious, they’ll want to keep you around

This email is a pitch, not a polite inquiry. Know your audience and sell it to them.

5. Have a fleshed-out guest post idea ready to present

Having a guest post idea already prepared is an advantage. It helps the blog owner visualize the content and shows that you’re prepared.

I’d recommend a simple, cogent structure with a bullet-point list of relevant topics under each heading. Sending a full article in the pitch isn’t necessary.

6. Offer samples of your work (including other GPs if possible)

Choose 2-3 blog articles from your website on subjects related to the host website’s niche. You’re not just showing you can produce great content; you’re showing that you can produce great content that they want to publish.

If you’ve successfully guest posted elsewhere previously, you may be able to link to this. However, only do this if you’re credited as the author of the published article.

Linking to a page you wrote as an anonymous guest blogger is bad practice. It tells the blog owner you’re pitching to that you’re willing to breach their confidence by showing that work they’ve published isn’t their own. This is an absolute no in SEO.

7. Work with an outreach expert

You could be a fantastic guest blogger in terms of content production, but successful outreach requires a different skill set. Or perhaps you just don’t have time.

I’d seriously consider working with an outreach expert for this part. They will:

Already have a large network of high-traffic blogs
Be able to get more posts published (remember, each successful outreach campaign earns you just one backlink!)
Understand which anchor types & host sites are most valuable for you
Help with production & optimizing for the host blog’s style

Personal guest blogging efforts can really pay off in the long run, but it’s a very slow start. My advice? Try both.

Guest posting services will get you links quicker and give your website a more respectable profile. This brings its own rewards in terms of referral traffic and domain authority. It will also strengthen your pitch when you start guest blogging with manual outreach.

In the meantime, you can slowly work on building strong relationships with extremely high-value blogs and writing guest posts personally for your most important partners.

How to Find Guest Posting Opportunities

Now you know what you want from guest blogs, you need to be able to identify where you should post them.

This is how I create shortlists of target websites when I’m preparing a guest posting campaign.

Guidelines for Creating Guest Post Content

So how do you write guest posts that publishers will accept? Allow me to introduce you to the 3 Cs of guest blogging.

Customized

The content must be written with the host website’s audience in mind. It needs to create value for the host.

Coherent

The content should follow a logical, pre-planned structure and stick to the point. A guest post is usually an informative guide – it’s not your diary!

Consistent

A guest blogging strategy involves writing articles for numerous sites. Keep your style and structure consistent across all your blogs. This will show site owners that you consistently produce high-quality guest posts and take your work seriously.

Bonus Guest Blogging Tips

Choose a unique, snappy title. The title should let the reader know what the blog is about but also tease that the article will tell them something they don’t know.
Use a neutral tone. While “we” first-person is sometimes acceptable for informal guides, second-person or neutral third-person are typically preferred. Keep it consistent. Never use “I” first person when writing for someone else’s website unless they ask you to.
Follow the host blog’s guest post guidelines. Ensure you’ve ticked every box on the host’s guest post submission page. It shows respect and gets your relationship off to a good start.
Use evidence to back up original ideas. Develop guest post ideas that can be supported with statistics and research. Combine these to draw original and interesting conclusions – Google loves original material.
Using AI for guest posts? It’s fine – but use it wisely. Not every host website accepts AI content. You should always proofread and edit AI-generated guest posts before submitting them.

What is Guest Posting in SEO? Example of a Guest Post

Here’s a simple example of a guest post. I’m pitching for the same HVAC service I mentioned earlier, and I want this guest post published on the local business directory I identified when SERP scraping.

Their specifications are as follows:

The GP must be at least 600 words
It must include at least 2 authority links besides the target link
The target link must not be in the introduction or conclusion
It must include at least 1 royalty-free image
It must be written in US English

So here’s how I meet those goals and publish a great guest post that acquires a valuable backlink for my website.

The target blog has an audience of homeowners trying to find trustworthy local businesses. So I identify their search need and a pain point in my title.

They’re looking for an HVAC engineer. Many homeowners are nervous about asking questions and don’t know which questions to ask. So I tease that the blog contains what they need to know.

The introduction is short (around 80 words) and introduces the problem. Then I publish a relevant stock image, meeting one requirement.

I include the target link in the first paragraph after the introduction.

I’m using the keyword anchor “HVAC making strange noises” to link back to my blog on the subject. Having it high up the page increases the chances of referral traffic, but the host blog won’t publish links in the intro, so I put it here.

I use the anchor to introduce a relevant subject. I then meet the requirement for two authority links, bringing evidence together to present a conclusion.

The rest of the article is focused on hitting pain points and relatable situations for the reader. While my goal of inserting the backlink has been achieved, I still want to write good content for the blog owner.

I add a third authority link here, exceeding the client’s expectations. Doing more than the bare minimum is a good way to show you’re serious and secure future guest posting opportunities.

I’m keeping the tone in neutral, sympathetic second-person, as this is a consumer blog. Key points covered, it’s time to round it off with a nice conclusion.

That brings us just over their minimum limit of 600 words, and there we have it.

A very simple guest post example that meets the publisher’s needs and provides them with free, relevant content for their website.

So how do you pitch this thing?

Pitching a Guest Post - Good and Bad Examples

Bad Guest Blog Pitch Example

Let’s start with a bad example of an outreach email.

This email:

Feels impersonal
Doesn’t specify a niche or subject
Doesn’t provide any content references or even a link to the blogger’s site
Brags while being formulaic & boring
Provides no compelling reason to engage

Let’s try again, shall we?

Good Guest Blog Pitch Example

Now, this outreach email example hits all the targets we set in our guide to pitching guest posts. This example:

Uses a personal approach to establish a connection
Identifies a common niche & where the content will fit
Shows knowledge of the host’s website
Offers value for the target’s SEO strategy
Presents an initial concept for the article
Provides samples of previous work as evidence

If you have the time to write custom pitches, it’s an excellent strategy. But time is always the question for a website owner, right?

Short on Time? Let SEOButler Help

SEOButler has years of experience writing and publishing high-quality guest posts on a substantial network of vetted, authoritative sites. If you don’t have the time to write dozens of pitches and individual blogs for someone else’s website, our guest posting services are the answer.

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